Ratchet wrench



Feb. 8, 1938. FL A. HAIST 2,107,568

RRRRRRRRRRR CH Feb. 8, 1938. A. HAISTY RATCHET WRENCH Filed June 12,1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 7 mvzflrron BY v W ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 8,1938' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE mil'ilmn amtxr i xf iszzz: 20,208" 4Claims. (CI. 81-62) This invention relates to a ratchet wrench and moreparticularly to a two way ratcheting socket wrench in which the axis ofrotation 01' the socket is perpendicular to the plane of movement of thehandle.

The principal object of the'invention is to provide a wrench of the typewhich is stronger and simpler than those heretofore in use known and is,at the same time, just as smooth and positive in its action. A'furtherobject of the invention is to provide a ratchet wrench of this typewhich will continue to operate satisfactorily even after being subjectedto severe abuse and long continued use. Numerous other collateralobjects of the invention and solutions therefore are shown in the hereinpatent specification, wherein:

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a diminutive top plan of my improved wrench.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary, horizontal section through the head of thewrench, taken on line 2-2, Fig. 4.

member ID.

Figs. 3 and 4 are fragmentary, vertical sections through the head of thewrench-taken on correspondingly numbered lines of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a perspective of one of the ratchet pawls and its companiondual-purpose spring.

Similar characters of reference indicate like parts in the severalfigures of the drawings.

For purposes of illustration, only one form of the invention has beenshown in the accompanying drawings, but it is obvious thatconsiderabledepartures from this particular construction may be made withoutdeparting from the essence of the invention. The particular wrenchillustrated is constructed as follows:

Thehead of the wrench consists'primarily of an integral, hollow, bodymember ID constructed of cast steel. Integrallyv connected with saidbody member is the usual long tapered. handle ll, preferably of I beamcross section as shown. Said body member i is vertically bored out (onan axis perpendicular of the plane of movement of the handle H) to forma relatively long bearing l2 in which are rotatably arranged the twojournals I3 and l3l of a rotatable ratchet head I (see Fig. 4). Thelatter is suitably enlarged at its lower end to form an annular shoulderi which prevents upward displacement of said rotatable ratchet headrelatively to the body Downward displacement of said rotatable ratchethead I4 is prevented by a screw collar l6 threaded onto the upper end ofsaid ratchet head i4 and screwed tightly down against the upperannularshoulder II of said ratchet head It. This screw collar I! ispreferably of hexagonal or other flat faced shape so as to be readilyturned by a wrench. when the same size of. ratchet head It is used for aconsiderable period of time, it is desirable to very solidly clamp thisscrew collar IS in its screwed down position,

and this is effected in the present inventionby. splitting the screwcollar It at i8 and clamping together the two ears 20 and 20a of saidcollar with a cap screw 2|.

The interior of said rotatable ratchet head I is coaxially cored orotherwise shaped to form a hexagonal or other desired formof fiat facedsocket 22 at its lower end so as to engage with the nut or other objectbeing turned by the wrench. The central and upper portion of saidrotatable ratchet head 14 is suitably core'd or drilled coaxially toform a cylindrical hole 23 to enable the socket -22 to engage the entirearea of the faces of the nut being turned, even though the threaded endof the bolt, upon which said nut is being screwed or unscrewed, extendsa considerable distance above the upper face of said nut. Thiscylindrical hole 23 is also useful in enabling the operator to drive outthe nut when it becomes jammed in the socket122.

The body member I0 is so cast as to provide an interior hollow portionor'chamber 24 which is .entirely enclosed by the metal of said bodymember In except where it opens into the central rear part of thebearing l2. This means that the extreme front portion 25 of said bodymember) is integrally connected with the rear portion 26 of said bodymember ID, and also integrally to the handle H, by horizontal webs 21and 2. This renders the body member In and wrenches of this general typeas heretofore constructed.

Arranged within the chamber 24 of said body member I0 is a pair ofratchet dogs or pawls 28 and 28a. The tail ends of said pawls are ofsemi-cylindrical form and are received or seated within companion. open,semi-cylindrical grooves 30, 30a. The form of these semi-cylindrical,open grooves is preferably less than half cylindrical so the whole headof the wrench much stronger than as'to enable the same to beexpeditiously formed by coring.

Interposed between the other flat face of each of said pawls 28, 28a andthe adjacent companion fiat face I! of the chamber 24 is a pair of sheetmetal, curvilinear springs 3|, 3 whose front ends are curled at 32- toabut against the companion transverse wall 29 of said chamber 2 (seeFig. -2). The rear ends of each of these pairs of springs 31, '3 restagainst therear portion. of the outer face of its companion pawl 28 or28a, and each pair of said' springs is integrally connected with therear end of a companion, sheet -metal restr'aining plate 33. The latteris flat and rests at all times flatagainst I the outer fiat face of itscompanionvpawl- '28 or 28a. The extreme front end of ,each of said re- Ystraining'plates 33 is hooked at 34 over the front I endor nose of itscompanion pawl 28 or 28a.--This arrangement prevents each restrainingplate from moving rearwardly relatively to companion pawl 28 or 28a. 8

The mathematical formula for the shape of the curvilinear springs 3|, 3Hhas not been determined, said curve having been obtained by a purelyempirical or lay-ou method with the successfully attained object ofpreventing any slack- 1 ness at any time in the pivotal or rocking jointbetween the rear ends of the pawls 28, 28a and their companionsemi-cylindrical, open grooves 38, 30a.

The front end of the one or other of said pawls 28, 28a is adaptedtoengage with ratchet teeth 35 which are formed integrally and coaxiallyon the ratchet head l4intermediate1y of the annular journals l3, l3!thereof. These ratchet teeth 35 do not extend as far out from the axisof rotation of the rotatable ratchet head [4 as do the journals [3 and I3| at the upper and lower boundaries of said ratchet teeth. In otherwords, the cylindrical plane which intersects the outermost portions ofsaid ratchet teeth 35 has a smaller diameter than the diameter of saidjournals I3, l3l. This enables said ratchet teeth to be considerablyburred or otherwise distorted (from use or abuse) but preventing suchburred portions from jamming against the bore of the bearing 12, andthereby preventing the free rotation of the rotatable ratchet head M inthe body member I 0.

When either the one or the other of the pawls 28, 28a. engages with saidratchet teeth 35, its rabbeted outer end engages simultaneously with apair of said ratchet teeth 35. This rabbeted construction permits ofratchet teeth of small pitch, thereby enabling the pawl to take holdafter the operator has only swung the handle H through a relativelysmall number of angular de= grees. It is true (generally speaking atleast) that a single, small pitched ratchet tooth is weaker than asingle large pitched ratchet tooth. This, however, is compensated for inthe present invention by having each pawl engage with a pair of ratchetteeth simultaneously. This provides the strength that could have beenobtained by the use of large pitched ratchet teeth, and, at the sametime, the small pawl engaging movement of the small pitched ratchetteeth. In addition to this a sturdy pawl and ratchet construction. iseffected by this arrangement without unduly thinning the metal wallbetween the root of the ratchet teeth 35 and the coaxial, cylindricalhole 23 of the rotatable ratchet head l4. Furthermore the strength ofthe connection between either of the pawls and the ratchet teeth isfully developed.

because of the fact that each pawl is pushed inwardly at a central pointfrom its companion re-.

straining plate 33 by a pair of curvilinear springs 3|, 3 locatedadjacent the edges of their companion pawls and hence far enough apartto. pre-' vent any cocking of the pawl.

It will be noticed that the inner r'abbeted'step or tooth of each pawlis undercut. This posi-- tively prevents the pawl from becomingdisenaiomee ,gaged after-it has takenhold. It will also be noticed thatall of the longitudinal corners of each-pawl are generously bevelled.This enables the pawl to properly seatv itself and to swing squarelywithout possibility of interference from the fillets of the chamber 24.

-Means are provided for simultaneously throwingone of the pawls 28, 28aout of engagement and then permitting the other pawl toswinginwardlyinto operative position under the influence of its companioncurvilinear springs 3|, 3. This 7 is Fefiected by means of a shipper 38which is arranged in thechamber 24 intermediately of the inner faces ofthe pawls 28, 28a and vertically pivoted at 3'! and 31 l in the bodymember l8 and manually actuatable by an exterior, shipper handle 38. Itwill be noted that no resilient means are necessary to hold this shipper38 in its one or other position. This is because of the disposition ofthe flat faces 40, 48 and 4|,4I of said shipper which contact with theinner, flat faces of the pawls, the effective leverage exerted againstthe one fiat face 48 of said shipper being less than the effectiveleverage exerted against the other flat face 4! of said shipper, despitethe difierence in spring pressures exerted against the pawls.

Downward displacement of the shipper 38 is prevented by a head 40 whichalso has the func-' tion of preventing dirt from entering the chamber 24through the upper shipper bearing 31. Upward displacement of saidshipper 36 is prevented by a retaining washer 4| which is countersunk inthe lower face of the body member ID and embraces a reduced shank 42 atthe lower end of said shipper and bears upwardly against a shoulder 43formed at the upper terminus of said shank 42. Said the protruding lowerend of said shank 42.

Operation The operator applies the hexagonal socket 22 of the rotatableratchet head I4 to the nut he desires to have turned. If the bolt towhich this nut is applied happens to extend up above the upper face ofsaid nut, it is accommodated in the cylindrical hole 23 of said ratchethead l4. If the operator desires to tighten said nut, he throws theshipper 36 to the position shown in the drawings. This throws the pawls28 out of operation and the pawl 28a into operation. He then swings thehandle ll back and forth in the usual way until the nut is tightened. Ifhe desires to unscrew a nut, he reverses the position of the shipper 36thereby throwing the pawl 28a out of operation and the pawl 28 intooperation.

If the operator desires to use the wrench for a different size of nut,he loosens the cap screw 2! and unscrews the screw collar I8. He thenthrows the shipper 36 to its central position which throws out both ofthe pawls 28 and 28a and thereby facilitates the removal of therotatable ratchet head l4. He then removes said ratchet head andreplaces it with one having the desired size and shape of socket 22. Hethen screws back the screw collar Hi. If he expects to use any certainsize and shape of ratchet head M for a considerable period of time, orfor very arduous or its springs 3| 3| I and retaining plate 33 shouldbecome fractured or warrant inspection, this can be-efl'ected, withoutremoving the shipper 38. The

ratchet head It andscrew collar can be removed as Just described. Toremove either one of the pawls 28, Ila and its companion springs 3|, Ill

and integral retaining plate 38, the ratchet head It is removed as abovedescribed and then the hook it pushed outwardly away from the nose ofits companion pawl 28 or Ila. The latter can then be easily slidforwardly through the chamber 2i and out'through the hearing if. The

springs ll, III with their integral restraining plate 33 can then bedropped out in the same way.

I claim as my invention:

l. A ratchet wrench comprising: a body member having a socket; arotatable ratchet head journaled in said body member and having ratchetteeth; a pawl disposed at its rear end within said socket and adapted toengage at its front end; with said ratchet teeth; and restraining meansfor holding the front end of the pawl in engagement with the ratchetteeth and the rear end thereof-in engagement with the bottom of saidsocket comprising a plate engaging said socket and adaptedto engage atits front end and hooked over the outer end of said pawl; and

a curvilinear spring connected to said restraining plate and bearingwith its outer end both laterally and longitudinally against said bodymember.

3. A ratchet wrench comprising: a body member having a socket; arotatable ratchet head Journaled in said body member and having ratchetteeth; a pawl disposed at its rear end within said socket and adapted toengage at its front end with said ratchet teeth and having a flat face;a restraining plate arranged against said flat face and hooked over theouter end of said pawl; and a curvilinear spring connected to saidrestraining plate and having a curled foot at its outer end bearing bothlaterally and longitudinally against said body member.

same in said socket.

' FOSTER A. HAIBT.

